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A South Auckland family who celebrated Christmas with a backyard barbecue were yesterday ripped apart - five children grieving for a mother violently killed and their father being sought by the police.
The woman's 18-year-old son found her lying fatally wounded in bed.
The father had disappeared from their home in Fisher Cres in the Manukau City suburb of East Tamaki.
Neighbours said the 41-year-old woman, her husband and their five children were a close-knit Samoan family who had spent Christmas Day together having a barbecue.
There was no hint then of looming domestic violence - fighting, shouting or a visit by police - although detectives say things turned nasty at night and alcohol was involved.
"There were visitors during the day and evening. It was a normal domestic situation [but] at some stage during the night things have turned ugly for the deceased, and she's been killed," said Detective Senior Sergeant Richard Middleton. "Alcohol is a factor."
The victim's body was discovered around 8am.
"[The 18-year-old son] woke up and went in to see mum and dad ... and found his mum there and dad wasn't around," said Mr Middleton.
The young man and his four siblings, all teenagers, were removed from the house. Later in the day relatives helped police to identify addresses of interest in South Auckland.
Mr Middleton said staff were still piecing together the night's events and identifying people who had been at the home.
"There were a number of people who visited ... as a result of it being Christmas Day. Just how many there were and at what stage they left the house, I don't know."
Forensic scientists worked at the house yesterday and a young constable, armed with a pistol, stood guard at the cordoned-off driveway.
Mr Middleton would not give details of the woman's injuries before receiving the results of a post-mortem examination, which will be held today.
He said relatives would look after the victim's children.
A Fisher Cres neighbour said he kept the street trouble-free by moving on teenagers who would hang around drinking at the entrance to an alley.
But he had not expected violence to come from over the fence.
He said his neighbours had lived in the 1960s home for about a year and described them as a "good, quiet family" and the victim as "a nice woman".
The man had slept outside in his carport on Christmas night and said he did not hear anything to indicate the woman would be dead by morning.
